After releasing several singles and three albums within the Detroit independent music underground, The White Stripes rose to prominence in 2002, as part of the garage rock revival scene. Their successful albums White Blood Cells and Elephant drew them attention from a large variety of media outlets in the United States and the United Kingdom.
The White Stripes used a low-fidelity, do-it-yourself approach to writing and recording. Their music features a melding of punk and blues influences and a raw simplicity of composition, arrangement, and performance. The duo is also noted for their fashion and design aesthetic which features a simple color scheme of red, white, and black.
The White Stripes' discography consists of six studio albums, two extended plays (EP), one video album, 26 singles and fourteen music videos. The band has sold approximately 12 million albums worldwide, 2 million in the US alone, and their latest three albums have each won a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.
On February 2, 2011, the band announced on their website that they had disbanded.
Official band website: www.whitestripes.com
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The White Stripes Lyrics
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I don't know what to do with myself
Planning everything for two
Doing everything with you
And now that we're through
I just don't know what to do
I just don't know what to do with myself
I don't know what to do with myself
Movies only make me sad
Parties make me feel as bad
'Cause I'm not with you
I just don't know what to do
Like a summer rose
Needs the sun and rain
I need your sweet love
To beat love away
Well I don't know what to do with myself
Just don't know what to do with myself
Planning everything for two
Doing everything with you
And now that we're through
I just don't know what to do
Like a summer rose
Needs the sun and rain
I need your sweet love
To beat love away
I just don't know what to do with myself
Just don't know what to do with myself
Just don't know what to do with myself
I don't know what to do with myself
The White Stripes's song "I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself" is a song about being lost without a loved one. The lyrics express the singer's confusion and disorientation after a relationship ends. The first two lines of the song, "I just don't know what to do with myself, I don't know what to do with myself", are repeated throughout and highlight the central theme of the song. The singer is unable to move on and find happiness without their former partner.
The lyrics mention how the singer used to plan everything for two and do everything with their partner. Now that they are alone, they don't know how to move forward. The singer finds no happiness in movies or parties because they are not with their ex-partner. The comparison of the singer's need for their partner to a summer rose that needs sunlight and rain to survive reinforces how important their partner was to their life.
The use of repetition in the song emphasizes the sense of helplessness and confusion that the singer feels. The repeated lines serve as a constant reminder of the singer's lost love and the uncertainty that comes with life after a relationship. This song is a timeless classic as it effectively conveys the emotions of heartbreak and the ensuing confusion.
Line by Line Meaning
I just don't know what to do with myself
The singer is feeling lost and unsure of what to do after a breakup.
I don't know what to do with myself
The singer is emphasizing that they truly have no idea how to occupy themselves now that they are single.
Planning everything for two
Prior to the breakup, the singer was used to planning their life around their partner.
Doing everything with you
The singer was deeply invested in the relationship and spent a lot of time with their partner.
And now that we're through
The relationship has ended, which has left the singer feeling lost.
Movies only make me sad
Reminders of the past relationship only serve to upset the singer.
Parties make me feel as bad
Being in social situations without their ex-partner causes the singer to feel just as down.
'Cause I'm not with you
The reason for the singer's unhappiness is explicitly stated - they miss their ex-partner.
Like a summer rose
The singer uses a simile to describe how they feel.
Needs the sun and rain
A rose needs specific conditions to thrive; the singer needs the love of their ex-partner to feel fulfilled.
I need your sweet love
The singer is professing their love and desire for their ex-partner.
To beat love away
This line is a bit ambiguous but suggests that the singer's love for their ex is so strong that it overshadows other potential relationships or experiences.
Just don't know what to do with myself
The repetition of this line drives home the singer's sense of confusion and frustration.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Hal David, Burt F. Bacharach
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Roiy Benkel
well somebody walked up to me
but i didn't know what to do
and then somebody said hello to me
but i didn't know what to do
because i think that my words could get
twisted so i bend my back over take a
gulp be funny cause i know there's nothing i can do
then my mother tried to pick me up
when i was sittin' down on the ground
something forced my little eyes come open
but i couldn't make out the sound
it doesn't matter cause my eyes are lying
and they don't have emotion
don't wanna be social, can't take it when they hate me
but i know there's nothing i can do
when my thoughts start to feel like mine
they're taken from me it seems to happen
all the time (every time)
and the feelings that are fine for you
there's somebody there
who doesn't think they are true
so think of something new
there's nothing left to do
and then my idols walk next to me
i look up at them they fade away
it's a destruction of a mystery
the more i listen to what they say
so does that mean that there's no more doin'
and there's no more thinkin'
and there's no more feeling
cause there's no right opinion
so can you tell me what i'm supposed to do
Afternoondeelight
i feel like this song is told from meg's perspective because this song is about social anxiety, and the part where jack says:"and then my idols walk next to me...I look up at them, they fade away...saw destruction of a mystery, the more I listen to what they say" is related to a quote where meg says " I don't want to know about my biggest idols. I don't want to read their autobiographies, I don't want to find out what they're really like."
Benjamin Moloy
maybe meg wrote many of the great songs, but didn't want people to know. and that's why jack says that the most important part of the white stripes was meg.
Daniel Jones - East London Blues
"when my thoughts start to feel like mine, they're taken from me...it seems to happen every time..." this song gets more and more real as the years go by.
Yekex
this riff should be in the all time top 10
Malachi Wilcox
Underated
Jack McCabe
The White Stripes became my favourite band the first time I heard this song.
Rob Manley
This song sounds kinda silly now, but there was a time in my life when I felt exactly like this, and I'm glad it was there.
Michael
Still class after all this time!
vikVictory96
R.I.P the replay button
tecnogasss
Legendary!